Written In Blood
by Jameson Rook
Summary: Steve knows that freedom is written in blood. When the United States is invaded, leaving 32 states out of US control, Steve has to do whatever he can to protect his family and the country that he loves. He bled for his country, he's almost died for his country, and he's not going to give it up without a fight. But, that doesn't mean Danny is going to let him run into the fray alone
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Hawaii 5-0 and all of its characters belong to Peter Lenkov and CBS Studio Productions. **

** So, I was sitting here at work (I work overnights, so it provides lots of thinking time. That's dangerous for someone like me...) and I realized something about myself. A week ago, a friend looked at me and said "I think you have a McGarrett complex", and I realized that...I think he might be right...**

** I thrive in the midst of chaos, but I also have a tactical brain and I tend to not process things before just acting on them, which can come off as reckless. I also have that very militaristic demeanor, having grown up in a Navy household, marrying an Army man and having three friend that are SEALs coupled with the fact that I'm going to be a cop doesn't leave much room for anything else. **

** Basically, thinking about all of that, I decided that I wanted to try my hand at this, but with my busy schedule I will probably only be able to update once a week or so, so you'll have to bear with me. **

___Undisclosed location_

_ 23 October, 2001_

_ 0330 hours_

_ "Barnett, get everyone on that damned plane, or so help me God..." Steve snarled. The younger, hispanic man simply glared back at him and shook his head firmly. _

_ "I don't think so, Commander. You're coming with us. Leave no man behind." Barnett snapped, popping above cover for a moment to fire a couple of rounds at the group of men that were currently riddling the crates in front of them with automatic weapon fire. _

_ "That is a direct order, Ensign! You will get on that plane, and you will get these men home! Do I make myself _crystal_ clear?" His light eyes flamed with rage as Barnett opened his mouth, presumably to argue again, but the look on his face stopped the protest on his tongue. _

_ Barnett sighed and motioned for the rest of the team to follow him on his mark. McGarrett counted to five on his fingers so that they could all see, and then straightened to his full height, dropping cover fire for his team. The other five men bolted across the air field, shooting a few rounds from their own weapons before diving into the open belly of a cargo plane. _

_ "C'mon, McGarrett!" Barnett bellowed, hanging out of the airplane and firing at the men once again. Steve waved him off and ducked back behind the cover. "What the fuck are you doing?!" _

_ "I knew what I signed up for, Barnett! Don't worry about me! You guys just get home, I'll see you stateside!" Steve replied, dropping the magazine from his weapon and patting the pockets on his BDU pants, searching frantically for another mag. He hissed out a breath when he realized he was out of ammo. _

_ The sound of the proppeller on the plane was loud as his team sped down the runway, ignoring the _ping_ of bullets hitting the plane. The heavy sound of boots hitting the ground caused a tightening in the pit of his stomach. _

_ He crouched, flexing his hands before balling them into fists at his sides. He was prepared to fight those bastards until he stopped breathing, but the _click_ of a .45 behind his skull had him freezing and lifting his hands above his head slowly. He sighed and straightened, allowing the man in front of him to strip him of all of the potential weapons on his person. _

_ "Lieutenant Commander McGarrett," Came a thick accent from somewhere behind him. One of the men slapped heavy, metal handcuffs onto his wrists, tightening them just shy of being dangerously tight. "You're a very hard man to find. I'm glad to see that you could finally join us." He felt himself being turned to face the man that was speaking to him. _

_ He was short and rather portly, his stomach protruding over his large gold belt buckle, and he had his dark hair slicked back with more hair product than Steve had _ever_ seen his mother or Mary use. He wore a stark white suit, with a gold chain hanging around his neck and sweat dripping off of his face into the creases of his neck. His pudgy fingers were adorned with large rings. _

_ Steve cocked his head to the side slightly, trying his damndest to figure out who the man in front of him was. _

_ "S'that right?" He questioned, wincing when the man behind him yanked on his handcuffs, jarring his shoulder. "Yes, that's right. We've got some business to attend to." Steve was about to respond, but he was abruptly cut off by a black bag slipping over his head, plunging him into total darkness. _

_ They shoved and prodded him as they led him through the damp wetlands of the jungle. Steve was led over rickety wooden bridges that swung low too much as he stepped on the boards and through crowds of trees with leaves that were so sharp that they sliced through his forearms. _

_ The man that had been leading him by his bicep shoved him into a dark, dank building and forced him into a shaky metal chair. They tore the bag off of his head, and he squinted, trying to adjust to his surroundings. _

_ "Commander, we need to have a discussion." The pudgy man was speaking to him again and a tall, thin man chained his hands to a rusty table. "I need you to tell me everything that you know about this man." He held up a small picture of a man that Steve had never seen before. _

_ "I don't know who that is." _

_ "You know, I'm not a patient man, McGarrett. There is only so long that I'm going to wait before I have to start taking action."_

_ "I'm telling you, I've never seen that guy before." Steve snapped, glaring at the man. The pudgy man gestured to the taller man, and the door to the room opened. A short figure was shoved into the room, a bag over its head as well. Steve's heart dropped to his feet as his eyes roamed over the figure. He knew that frame anywhere..._

_ "Danno." He gasped as the bag was torn off his partner's head. It vaguely registered in the back of his mind that he should _not_ know who Danny was. This was years pre-Danny. What the fuck was happening?_

_ "You going to tell us what we want to know?" The pudgy man asked again, tugging a gun from the waistband of his pants. _

_ "I already told you, I don't know who it is! Just let Danny go!" _

_ "Fine. You don't want to cooperate, we'll see if you feel differently after this." And with that, he placed the gun to Danny's head and pulled the trigger._

_ "NO!"_

"Steve! Steve!" Steve startled awake, his hand automatically reaching for the night stand where he kept his service weapon. Danny's hand closed over his wrist and pinned both of his arms over his head, holding fast as his partner tossed and turned beneath him, choking out sobs of panic. "Hey, hey, hey, it's me. It's Danno. C'mon, Steve, calm down. It's just me." Danny soothed, running his thumb over the pulse point on the inside of Steve's wrist.

"Danno." Steve called out, shaking his hands from out of Danny's grasp and wrapping his arms around the smaller man's waist. "Don't let me go, Danny." He sobbed into the crook of Danny's neck.

"I'm right here, Steve. Right here." Steve felt Danny's hands running over his back slowly, the contact calming him slowly. It wasn't the first of Steve's PTSD induced dreams, it wasn't even the first one involving Danny, but they never got any easier. Danny always held him until he calmed down enough to fall back to sleep. "What happened?"

"They," Steve paused to swallow around his dry tongue. "They had you, Danny. They shot you."

"Oh, babe." Danny whispered. They sat that way for a couple more minutes until the shrill sound of Steve's phone cut through the silence between them.

"McGarrett."

"Steve, have you guys seen the news?" Kono's voice was panicked and immediately had Steve on high alert. He swung his feet over the side of the bed and jogged downstairs, Danny in tow behind him.

"What's going on Kono?" Steve questioned, even as he was picking the remote up and flipping through the channels until he reached the news. "Oh my God." He breathed. Danny's breath hitched and he laid a hand on Steve's shoulder.

"What do we do, Steve?" Kono questioned through the phone in Steve's quaking hands.

"I...I don't know, Kono. You get Chin and meet me at the house. We'll figure it all out. Danny and I are going to go get Gracie, Rachel, and Stan. I've got a fall out room. We'll regroup here in one hour." He clicked his phone off after Kono agreed and hung up. Steve ran a shaky hand through his hair before pulling Danny tightly to him.

"C'mon, babe, let's go get Gracie. It'll be okay." Danny muttered, pulling away and swiping the Camaro keys off the table as they sprinted out of the house. They didn't even bother to turn the television off, leaving the loud siren coming from the tiny speakers going and the banner in bright red flashing across the screen.

_**The United States has been invaded.**_

_**32 states are no longer under US control.**_


	2. Chapter 2

"Uncle Steve? What's going on?" Grace muttered into the crook of Steve's neck as he carried her into the house. She had been conked out since he and Danny had gotten to Rachel's house, and hadn't woken the entire ride to his house.

"Shh, it's okay, sweetie." Steve whispered, smoothing down her hair as he stepped into his and Danny's bedroom. She was snoring softly, her hands clutched in his shirt, when he reached the panel in the wall. He reached out a hand and punched the code into the keypad behind the photograph of himself, Danny, Kono, and Chin around a bon fire on the beach. A section of the wall slid open and the three people behind him gasped.

He ignored them, however, and stepped into the fall out room. It was a large area, with three different bedrooms, a bathroom, kitchenette, and a living area. He'd put it in when he'd returned home for his father's funeral. He knew that he wouldn't be going anywhere soon, and he wanted to be prepared for anything. He had just hoped that he would never have to use it.

Steve laid Gracie on the bed in the closest room to the door, tucking her in tightly and kissing her forehead before moving back out into the living area where Danny, Stan and Rachel were greeting Kono and Chin as they stepped into the room. Steve briefly noted that Kamekona was following behind them as well, wiping at his eyes tiredly and yawning.

"What the hell is going on, boss?" Kono questioned, fear evident in her eyes. Steve sucked in a deep breath and ran his hand over the back of his neck.

"I haven't had a chance to talk to anyone in Washington yet, so I'm not entirely sure. Hell, I'm not even sure if we even still control Washington." He crossed his arms over his chest, assuming his 'Lieutenant Commander Badass' stance, as Danny so fondly referred to it. "You guys are going to stay here while I head to D.C., I'm going to assess the situation and decided what to do from there. I'll be contacting my team, seeing where they're all located, and seeing when they can rendevous with me. Maybe try to take out the leadership of whatever ballsy sons of bitches thought that invading America would be a _smart_ idea."

"Steve, you can't do that by yourself." Chin protested, his hands on his hips as he glared at Steve.

"He's right, boss, that's a suicide mission, SEAL training or not. If there was enough power behind this force to take over that many states, there is more than enough power to take out one guy." Kono agreed.

"Look, you guys aren't coming with me. I'm not risking you guy getting injured just because you bitch and moan at me." Steve snapped. Stan and Rachel were hovering in the corner of the room, remaining blissfully silent, and Danny was hovering near the room that Steve had put Gracie in, his face etched with concern. He was also, uncharacteristically, quiet. "There is enough food in here to last for two years, even with this amount of people, and the sink in hooked up to a still that has a direct line to the ocean. You've got an endless supply of water. Bathroom, bedrooms, movies, a TV. You guys will be golden. The thing is, you _cannot_ leave this room until you get the okay from me. I'm going to lock this door on my way out, and only I know the code, so there is no turning back. Am I clear?"

"So...we're supposed to what? Just sit back while you run off into the night to play cops and robbers?" Danny questioned, finally seeming to find his voice as he stepped away from the wall to level a glare at Steve. "I'm not going to watch you get yourself killed, Steven."

"I'm not giving you a choice, _Daniel_." Steve replied on a growl. Danny leveled a patented Williams-glare at him.

"Then it's a good thing that I'm not asking for your permission, isn't it? I'm coming with you, end of story." Steve heaved a sigh and raked his hands through his hair.

"What about Gracie? She's going to need you to be here."

"She's got Rachel. And Stan. And Kono. Chin. Kamekona. She's got an army of people protecting her, Steve, two of which are cops. You have no one. I'm not going to lose you." Danny replied, his hand coming to rest of Steve's chest. He sighed and placed his hand over Danny's, bringing it to his lips to brush his lips over his knuckles.

"Danny, I...I don't want you to get hurt."

"When has that ever stopped an operation with you?" Danny chuckled, a weak version of the laughter that always found him when he spoke to Steve, but a laugh nonetheless. "You'll be there to watch my back, and I want to be there to watch yours. Just...let me help you, Steve. Please?" He whispered, his voice broken. Steve felt his heart clench and he knew that he'd been swayed. Years ago, before he'd been ambushed by Hurricane Danny, he would have told you that no "puppy dog eyes" in the world could bring him to his knees, but Danny was always the exception to every rule.

"You're going to listen to everything that I say. You're going to watch your back, and you're going to stay safe. If you're coming with me, we're doing this my way, clear?" Danny nodded slowly, his heart pounding in his chest. Steve nodded in reponse slowly. "Okay. Okay, Danny. Let's get geared up and head out."

The two men hugged the others in the room tightly, knowing that it could very well be the last time that they saw them, before moving to Gracie's room. Danny immediately crossed to the small bed and dropped to his knees, his hand touching Gracie's shoulder to wake her gently. Steve, however, hesitated in the doorway, his chest suddenly feeling like there was a thousand pound weight on it.

"Gracie," Danny whispered, brushing a kiss over his daughter's forehead. "C'mon, Monkey, wake up." Grace's eyes blinked open blearily and she struggled into a sitting position, taking in the room around her curiously.

"Where are we, Danno?" She whispered through a sleep rasped voice.

"We're at Uncle Steve's house. Listen, sweetie, Danno and Uncle Steve are going to have to go away for a bit, okay?"

"Why? Where are you guys going?" She questioned, suddenly fully awake. Her frightened eyes darted to Steve and he felt like he was going to throw up.

"There's something going on that we need to go take care of. You're going to stay here with Mommy, Step-Stan, Kono, Chin, and Kamekona, they're going to keep you safe, okay?"

"But...but you and Uncle Steve keep me safe..." She whimpered, tears welling in her small eyes as she continued to flick her gaze between Danny and Steve. Steve's feet moved him unconciously across the floor so that he could kneel beside Danny and take Gracie's tiny hand in his.

"Honey, this is something very different. There are some bad, bad men that Danno and I need to take care of so that we can keep you safe. That's why we have to go for a little while, because we _are_ keeping you safe." He whispered. Gracie surged forward and wrapped her tiny arms around his neck. Steve wrapped his large arms around her and Danny as well, holding them both to his chest tightly.

"I'm going to miss you, Uncle Steve. And you too Danno." She whimpered.

"And we'll miss you, Monkey." Danny replied, smoothing his hand over Grace's hair. Steve didn't know how long they stayed like that, just wrapped around each other, but when they finally pulled apart he felt an immediate absence in his arms. "Remember, Danno loves you, Gracie." Danny whispered.

"I love you too, Danno. I love you, Uncle Steve."

"I love you too, Gracie. I'll keep Danno safe, I promise."

"Keep _you_ safe too." Steve nodded slowly as he and Danny left the bedroom. He barely felt Rachel's hand ghosting over his back as she brushed past him and Danny to get into the bedroom. He saw her climb into bed and cuddle Grace against her chest as she rocked the crying girl and sang, what sounded like, some sort of lullaby.

"Hey, be safe out there, brah." Chin muttered, drawing Steve's gaze away from Grace. He nodded and hugged Chin again briefly.

"Keep her safe, you guys." He nodded his head towards the bedroom and Kono clapped her hand on his back reassuringly.

"Not to worry, boss. We'll look out for her. She's safe with us. You guys just come back home, okay?"

"We'll do our best, Kono." Danny replied when Steve found himself at a loss for words. The men said their final goodbyes before moving out of the fall out room, locking the door behind them, and moving downstairs.

Steve spun the dial on the safe where he kept his weapons (he'd moved them from the hall closet soon after Danny had moved in, which meant that Gracie would be there on weekends), and began piling the guns into a duffel bag in his hand. Danny paced back and forth, running his hands through his hair nervously.

"Here, babe, you'll need this." Steve muttered, tossing Danny a Kevlar vest. Danny gave a sad chuckle and looked at the vest in his hand. It was strange that his entire relationship with Steve McGarrett almost always came down to bullets and Kevlar.

"Steve, how are we going to beat these guys?" He whispered, moving to put his hand on Steve's forearm and stopping his movements. Steve hesitated and turned to look at Danny. The raw fear that he saw in his partner's eyes had him setting the bag down and pulling him into a tight hug.

"Danno." Was the only thing that Steve could manage to say as he ran his hands over Danny's hair and placed soft kisses to the other man's temple. "It's going to be okay, Danny. We'll figure this all out."

"You don't know that." Danny shot back, pulling away and pawing at his eyes to wipe away the rebellious tears that had escaped onto his cheeks. Steve reached out to touch Danny's back, but he shrugged the large hand off his shoulder and went about gathering things.

Steve knew better then to try to reason with Danny when he was that distrot, and, frankly, they didn't have time to do this. He understood that Danny was scared, hell, _he_ was scared, but they needed to push all of that down because they had a slightly more pressing objective. He slipped his phone from his pocket and punched out a familiar number.

"Commander, long time no see." Came the gruff voice on the other end of the line.

"Callahan." Steve grunted in lieu of an actual greeting. "Where are you and the boys at right now."

"We're on our way back from a mission across the pond. Why, what's up?" Callahan was a smart guy. He always had been, ever since Steve had met him in Coronado.

"The states have been infiltrated. We've lost control in over half of our own damned country, Callahan." The other end of the line was silent for a long moment before he got a response.

"Well, shit." Callahan breathed through the line. "So what's our next move, Commander?"

"The way I see it, we need to figure out if Washington is still in our control, establish a base somewhere. Try to take back what's ours." He heard Callahan rallying the troops on the other end of the line.

"Where do you want to rendevous?"

"How far out of Hawaii are you? We can group here, meet up at Five-0 headquarters, and we'll figure out what the status of the country is."

"We can touch down in about an hour and fifteen minutes." The answer shocked Steve a bit, but he ignored it.

"Okay, we'll meet you at HQ then."

"Uh, _we_, sir?" Callahan questioned.

"My partner, Detective Danny Williams. He will be accompanying us on this mission. Is there a problem with that, Callahan?" Steve put as much fire in his voice as he could without physically melting the phone.

"No, sir, I just..." The other man hestitated, and Steve was ready to spit fire when Callahan continued. "Do you trust him?" Steve looked to where Danny was watching him through caring, arctic blue eyes, and felt his heart clench in his chest.

"With my life."


	3. Chapter 3

_**I apologize for this taking so long. Between Christmas and work, I haven't had thirty seconds to sit down and write. Mele Kalikimaka, by the way. I hope that everyone had a wonderful holiday. **_

True to their word, an hour and fifteen minutes later Danny and Steve were sitting in the HQ when a group of four men strode in. Danny's gaze swept over them and noted that the men looked like they were strapped for barracks.

"McGarrett." The man leading the pack in said with a brief nod. He was a short man, about Danny's height, with a neck like a bull's, dark brown eyes to match his dark crew cut hair, and a stocky frame that Steve had personally seen bust through more doors than the entire Five-0 team combined.

"Callahan, good to see you again." Steve replied, patting Callahan on the shoulder. "This is my partner, Danny Williams." He gestured to Danny, who gave a small nod of his own in greeting. "Danno, this is Callahan, Zavala," He gestured to a tall hispanic man with blue eyes, and black hair. "Gilbert, and Jackson." Gilbert and Jackson both had dirty blonde hair and green eyes so simliar that Danny briefly though that they could have been seperated at birth.

"Good to meet you guys." He mumbled. Steve's eyes flicked over Danny's face and took in the nervousness that hovered on the edges of his confident exterior.

"I need a SitRep, Callahan."

"Well, from what we've gotten so far, D.C. is FUBAR. We've got nothing on the East coast." Beside Steve, Danny's body tensed, and Steve didn't have to use all his "ninja SEAL mind tricks" to figure out what he was thinking. That meant that Jersey was under siege, and that meant that Danny's family was in danger. His heart ached for the other man.

"Okay. Well, the best course of action I can think of is to hit them hard. Retake D.C., establish a position that we can fortify, and then launch a larger strike from there." Steve ordered, his voice every bit the hard-ass Navy SEAL that he at least attempted to surpress when speaking with anyone on Five-0. He wanted to convey authority, not scare the shit out of them.

"Understood." Callahan replied, his fists balled at his sides. "We've got control of the Black Hawk once it returns from a refuel on the island, we can take it to the mainland and make a strike from there."

"Wait, wait, so let me get this straight." Danny grumbled, running his hands over his hair and stepping forward. "The six of us are going to take on an army big enough to invade the US, and we all think that this is a _good_ idea?"

"Yes, it's a good idea. Not only that, it's the only idea that I've even considered. We're going to go in, get shit done, and take our country back. Failure is. Not. An option." Callahan snapped, leveling a hard stare at Danny. Steve gave him something that resembled a more murderous version of Aneurysm Face that shut him up.

"Can you guys go get the necassary supplies and wait for the Black Hawk? We'll depart as soon as it returns and we load up. Ammo and gun closet is down the hall on the left, take what you need." He tossed Callahan the key to the closet that hung around his neck and waited for the man to reluctantly leave. "Are you okay?" He questioned, reaching out and laying his hand on Danny's shoulder.

"I'm fine, Steven. Let's just get this over with. Suicide mission, here we come." He mumbled sarcastically, pulling away and heading towards the gun closet. Steve's large hand closed around his bicep, stopping him in his tracks. Danny growled low in his throat, but turned to face the other man anyway. The painful veil that was barely shielded by his stubborn blue eyes was not lost on Steve.

"That's not an 'I'm fine' tone, Daniel, now talk. Stop trying to run away from me." His voice was low and slow as he spoke, as if Danny was a child. Danny sighed and raked his fingers through his hair, shaking his head as he did so. Steve knew that face. It meant that he'd broken through the Williams-force field.

"I just...my family is there, Steve. They're there, and I'm all the way in Hawaii so I can't even keep them safe. I went through the academy to make a difference, and to keep the world safe for the people I love. What am I even doing if I can't be there to do that?" He threw his hands up in the air in a subdued version of his normal rant.

"You keep Gracie safe everyday here." Steve whispered, barely affected by the glare that statement earned him.

"You _know_ what I meant, McGarrett." Danny growled.

"We're going to get through this, we're going to save your family, and we're going to do exactly that, I promise you that. But, we need to keep it together long enough to do it. Okay?"

"Okay, babe." He nodded, leaning his forehead against Steve's, his thumb brushing over the other man's cheekbone. Callahan cleared his through uncomfortably from the doorway and Steve pulled away as if he'd been burned by fire. The look of hurt and confusion on Danny's face twisted low in Steve's stomach, but he brushed it off and turned to face the other SEAL. Callahan reguarded him with a thin veil of apprension and confusion, his arms crossed over his chest as his gaze flicked between Steve and Danny.

"Black Hawk is ready, Commander." He mumbled after a moment. Steve nodded and crossed the room to head to the helicopter, but Callahan stopped him short. "Is, uh, is there something we need to know about you and Williams?" He whispered, his voice low and gravelly. Steve stared at him for a moment, pretty sure that his teeth were going to crack from the force with which he was clenching his jaw.

"No. There's nothing you need to know about me and Williams." Steve snapped, his eyes shooting daggers. Callahan pulled a shrug, but stepped out of the way and allowed him to move out of the main lobby. Danny stared after him, his mouth agape as shock overtook his entire being. Callahan flicked a gaze in his direction before following Steve out of HQ.

Steve knew that he shouldn't have gone about things that way. It wasn't that he was ashamed of Danny, that had never been the case, but he wasn't quite ready for the team to konw about that aspect of his life. Call it ignorance, call it years of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' being pounded into his head, but the thought of them knowing about him and Danny twisted his stomach so tightly that he felt like throwing up.

He let out a stuttered sigh when Danny brushed past him, a duffle bag of weapons in his hand and a hard line set in his shoulders. The glare that the smaller man shot him cut to the quick, and he felt like rushing across the parking lot and pulling him into a hug, but he knew better. Angry Danny was not someone to fuck with. Callahan appeared at his side as if out of thin air as they strode toward the Black Hawk.

"We should be on the mainland quickly, we'll go as far as we can on this tank of fuel, and then we'll have to find another transport over enemy lines. I can prepare an advance plan on the flight in and you can review it when we arrive."

"Sounds good, Lieutenant."

"Requesting permission to speak freely, sir."

"What's on your mind, Callahan?" Steve grumbled, hefting his own bag of weapons onto his shoulder.

"We have one hell of a mission ahead of us." Callahan's voice was slow and cautious.

"I'm aware of the situation, Lieutenant. Where are you going with this?" Steve shot him a look that would have killed a lesser man. He had a vague idea of Callahan's complaint, but he hoped, for the other man's sake, that he was wrong.

"I know you are, sir. I just..." The smaller man sighed and ran his lithe fingers over his crew cut. "The detective isn't trained. He doesn't know what he's getting into here. He's going to slow us down. I think that he'd be better off hanging back here, holding down the fort while we take care of business." Steve stopped dead in his tracks and leveled a glare at him.

"Danny Williams has saved my ass on more then one occasion. He is my partner, and I would jump in front of a bullet for him. He's coming with us, and it is not up for discussion any further. Do I make myself perfectly clear, Lieutenant Callahan?"

"Aye, sir. Crystal clear." Callahan snapped with a short nod, his jaw set tightly. Stevestared at him a moment more before continuing toward the helicopter. Settling the bags in the belly of the chopper, he slid onto the uncomfortable bench seat next to Danny. The air between them was heavy and thick, the silence seeming to stretch even over the _thck thck thck_ of the chopper blades starting up.

The rest of the men piled into the chopper behind them and they lifted off of the ground. Steve watched as the island that he loved so much disappeared into nothing more then a dot in the vastness of the ocean. He briefly wondered when in the hell his entire world had fallen apart.

He placed his palms flat against his camouflage clad thighs, the ripstop material of his fatigues a small comfort. For the better part of his adult life, his camis and dog tags had defined him as a man. His ability to mechanically blend into the jungles, or desert sands, or arctic wasteland of any country that he was in had saved his life. Now, it seemed, that same training that he'd always considered the best decision of his life was the thing that was going to rip apart the _real_ best thing he'd ever had.

Steve glanced at Danny out of the corner of his eye, not surprised to find the detective pointedly ignoring him. He let his head fall back against the cargo-net covered metal hull and let his eyes slipped shut. He doubted that he'd get much sleep, but he knew that he had to try. Callahan had been right about one thing.

They were in for one _hell_ of a mission.


	4. Chapter 4

_** I really need to apologize for this taking so long. I've been asked to co-write a play that will be performed at a state level competition, so I've been ridiculously busy with writing and casting calls and such. I've missed being able to sit down and work on this fic, and hopefully the next update won't take nearly as long. So, if anyone is still out there listening, here we go. **_

__The way that Danny silently shoved past him to exit the helicopter when they landed shouldn't have shocked him, but the little flare of pain in his chest at the gesture stung. Steve huffed out a distrot sigh and slung his M4 over his shoulder before grabbing a few more weapons and following after the rest of the team. His breath caught in his throat on a hushed curse when he took in the sight of the remains of a highway in front of him.

It hadn't even been twenty-four hours since the US had been invaded, but the highway was littered with shattered glass and crunched metal of abandoned vehicles. There wasn't a person in sight as they moved between the cars carefully, their weapons drawn cautiously, until they reached a spot to regroup their thoughts.

"McGarrett, this is...this is _bad_." Callahan muttered, checking the magazine in his weapon absently.

"I know it looks bad, but we've been through worse. We've got to press on and figure out what we're dealing with."

"What we're dealing with? Look around you, Steven! We're dealing with a fucking hostile take over!" Danny hissed, his blue eyes flaming as they met Steve's for the first time since they'd left Hawaii. His knuckles were white with the grip that he had on his own weapon, causing Steve to feel guilty about letting him come. Danny had never seen war. Sure, he'd seen criminals and he'd had to kill to save Steve's ass more than once, but the horrors that he was about to endure could never compare. Steve reached out and placed his hand on Danny's shoulder.

"I know, Danno, but we've got to remain cool and collected. Let's move forward, establish a place to inventory supplies where we're not out in the open, and we can figure out what to do from there. Callahan, you take point, I'll watch the rear. Let's move." The men shuffled into position with practiced precision, and Steve watched with something akin to pride as Danny fell into line with them flawlessly.

They moved around the cars, their weapons drawn and their eyes alert as they moved towards the looming structures of a city on the horizon. They had travelled a little under a mile when something low in Steve's stomach churned. He knew that feeling, over the years in the SEALs you developed something that his training instructor at Coronado had called a 'death twinge'. It was a horrible sinking feeling in your stomach that _something_ was off, and usually that something could get you killed.

He lifted his fist up and the men halted immediately, their eyes trained on the landscape around them. Steve squinted at the treeline and cars surrounding them and strained to hear anything out of place. There was nothing. No chirping birds, no barking dogs, even the damned car alarms had silenced. It was deathly quiet on the abandonded highway.

"Steve, what are-?" Danny was cut off when Steve's hand clasped around his face and his eyes bored holes in the smaller man's. Danny's eyes were wide as they stared back at Steve, who was willing him to remain quiet, but he eventually nodded and Steve let his hand fall away. He wrapped his hand back around the grip of his M4 and squared it on his shoulder to look through the Red Dot sight.

He had just started his second sweep across the road in front of him when he saw it. It was a minute movement, could have even possibly been nothing more then a leaf blowing off of the hood of a car, but he knew better. The muscles in his stomach clenched in anticipation, a bubble of acid hovering at the back of his throat, as he lowered himself slightly and began moving towards the movement. He had barely gone five-hundred feet when a man popped up over a wrecked car and open fired on them.

"Get down!" Steve bellowed, springing behind a car. The air rushed from his lungs as he hit the tar, but he regained his footing quickly and crouched, checking his magazine before firing a few shots over the hood of the car. The sound of bullets chewing up the tar was deafening as Steve hunched behind the car. His eyes scanned for the rest of his team, and for Danny. He got all of the other SEALs in his sight line, but he finally heaved out a sigh of relief when Danny's eyes caught his under a rusted pick up truck. He gave Danny a reassuring wink before getting to his feet and firing several shots again.

One of the men that was firing at them hit the ground in a spray of blood, and Steve felt the familiar soak of adrenaline in his veins. He fired again, the M4's slight kick against his shoulder reminding him of all of those times in various jungles across the world. This is where he belonged, in the heat of battle, with his brothers firing along side him, protecting his country. This had _always_ been where he belonged.

"Steve!" Danny's voice tore through his thoughts as he turned in time to see his partner standing up. The bullet that tore through Danny's body seemed to slow down as Steve watched it. The blood sprayed up Danny's pale neck and soaked his shirt, his face dropping to look at the wound seconds before he crumpled to the ground. Steve was sprinting across the distance between them, shouting for cover, before his brain could properly inform his body to do so. He nearly stumbled over his own numb feet twice before falling to his knees beside Danny.

Callahan pulled a grenade from his belt, pulled the pin, and chucked it through the air, his gruff voice bellowing 'frag out!' seconds before the deafening explision, but Steve didn't hear any of it. The shooting had died down completely by the time Steve had ripped Danny's shirt open and stripped off the Kevlar underneath it. His shaking hands roamed over Danny's chest, searching for wounds, but he only found the bullet hole just above Danny's collar bone, at the juncture where his neck met his shoulder.

"Jesus, Danno." He breathed, tears prickling in the corners of his eyes as he pressed his hand to the wound. Danny sucked in a pained breath when Steve rolled him gently to check his back. Luckily, he was greeted with the red, angry pucker of an exit wound, and he breathed a ragged sigh of relief. Steve pressed his forehead to Danny's, chuckling hopelessly and shaking his head. "What the hell were you thinking? You should have stayed down behind cover, you _know_ better, Danny. They could have killed you!"

"They were g-gonna kill _you_! Guy had a bead on you, I popped up to distract him. Shoulda been paying better attention to your surroundings, eh, SuperSEAL?" Danny teased around the pained gasps.

"Sir, that wound looks like hell." Callahan interrupted, pointing at the bullet hole in Danny's shoulder. Steve shot him a sarcastic glare.

"No shit, Callahan. We're going to have to cauterize it." Danny's eyes doubled at the word and he looked at Steve like he had just suggested sacrificing Gracie to a pack of wolves. "Zavala, you still smoking those cancer sticks?"

"Yes, sir." Zavala said with a hint of sheepishness edging into his deep, rumbling voice.

"Good, let me have your Zippo." Steve extended his hand to catch the dark blue lighter with the gold SEAL crest on the front. He flicked the clasp on his ankle sheath and withdrew his KaBar. "Gilbert, Jackson, you two run cover. I don't want any of those bastards sneaking up on us. You catch sight of anyone who doesn't identify themselves readily, you gank that bastard. I do not want any surprises. Clear?" The men nodded before replying in unison.

"Hooyah, Commander." They set up on either side of the car that they had set up behind, their weapons ready and Steve turned his attention back to Danny, who was looking at him through wild, pained blue eyes. Steve gave him a sad smile.

"You...what are you going to do, Steven? That face makes me nervous..." Danny heaved wearily, his hand shaking as it reached up to cover his own bullet wound. He frowned at the tacky feeling of blood sliding over his fingers.

"Danno, we've got to stop the bleeding, and...I'm not going to sugar coat this, Danno, it's going to hurt like a bitch."

"Please, just...whatever in the hell crazy stunt you're about to pull, just tell me you've done it before or at least have some ridiculous certification in it?"

"It's part of field triage, I got this, Danno. Trust me?" His eyes searched Danny's, chuckling as his partner rolled his eyes at him. Even injured Danny Williams was nothing if not a smartass.

"For some unknown reason, I do trust you, Steven. Implicitly." Steve nodded and flicked the lighter open without another word. He ran the flame it produced over the blade of the KaBar until it was glowing a dull, dark red color. He reached into his back pocket, pulling out his worn leather wallet. "Here, bite down on this, Danny." Danny opened his mouth and clenched his teeth around the leather. Steve ran his fingers down the side of Danny's face briefly before pressing the blade to the wound.

He wasn't prepared for the way that Danny's back arched off of the car, his teeth clenching the wallet so tightly that Steve thought that he was going to bite straight through it. The scent of burnt flesh permeated through the air as Steve pulled the blade away, heating it again, before pressing the blade to the wound on his back. Danny growled around the wallet again, his body going taut. When Steve finally pulled the knife away and resheathed it, Danny let the wallet fall from his mouth and sucked in ragged breaths.

"I'm so sorry, Danno." Steve whispered, running his fingers through Danny's hair. Danny was about to respond when a scoff came from behind them. Callahan was staring down at his weapon, his face twisted in a scowl, when Steve turned to face him.

"Is there a problem, Callahan?"

"With all due respect, Commander, I told you that this was going to happen." Callahan hissed, leaning in so that only Steve could hear him. "He isn't trained for warfare, and you _know_ that! But you insisted that we bring your boyfriend along with us. This is your fault, McGarrett!" He snapped, spewing the word 'boyfriend' as if it were literally poison on his tongue.

Callahan's eyes snapped open in fear when Steve's hand closed around his throat and threw him against a car. The crunch of metal meeting flesh echoed through the air as Steve came close again, his boot connecting with Callahan's ribs. The smaller man wheezed out a cough, moving to push himself to his feet, but Steve stopped him with a hand on the back of his neck as he crouched down beside him. His voice was low and murderous as he spoke.

"I do not _care_ if this is some misplaced, moronic, misguided homophobic issue for you, Callahan. My relationship with Danny is _none_ of your God damned business, and it had nothing to do with our ability to operate. He is my partner, we put away murderers, and we take down bad guys, just the same as you do! The fact that I get to go home to the man I'm in love with every night doesn't make a bit of difference. If this is going to be an issue with you, you can turn your ass around, hoof it back to whatever rock you've been hiding under, and let us do this. So," Steve tightened his grasp until he felt the tendons shifting under his fingers and Callahan growled out a curse. "What's it going to be, Callahan?"

"H-hooyah, Commander." He gasped out, choking loudly when Steve released him and stepped away.

"Good. Let's move out." Steve snarled, reaching down to help Danny to his feet. He placed his hand on the small of Danny's back carefully, his face veiled in concern when Danny swayed on his feet. "You okay, Danno?" His voice was low and gentle as he spoke, drawing a smile from the smaller man.

"I'm good, Steven." He nodded, patting Steve on the shoulder. Steve smiled and went to move forward, but Danny's hand around his wrist stopped him. He turned back to look at Danny curiously. "Thank you." He whispered.

"Danny, I was never ashamed of you, you need to know that. It was just...over time, certain things get beaten into your head, and they can be hard to move past."

"I understand, Steve, you don't have to beat yourself up about it." Steve gave him a bashful smile before his eyes fell to the ground between Danny's feet. He chuckled and clapped his hands together, wincing at the slight pain. "Okay, let's go save the world." Steve barked out a laugh, glancing to where his team was slightly ahead of them, waiting for orders.

"Saving the world, huh? Just your average, ordinary, everyday superhero?"

"Did...did you just quote Smashmouth, Steve?" Danny quirked an amused eyebrow.

"On occasion, I _can_ make a good popculture reference."

"I don't think that '90s bands count as popculture anymore."

"Details, Danno. C'mon, let's do this." Steve chuckled, shaking his head and walking forward.

"Hooyah, Commander." Danny laughed when Steve's head snapped back to look at him, his eyes dark. There would be time to explore that venue later. Right now, they've got a country to defend.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Just want to answer a question really quickly:**_

_** Anon-yes, Kono and Chin will be a part of this story, they just haven't gotten to have their chance in the spotlight yet. :D**_

_** Apologies for this one being so short, I just wanted to get this whole...thing out of the way...**_

They approached the bodies in front of them with extreme caution, their weapons drawn and their trigger fingers twitching. Callahan and Zavala crouched near the men, reaching out and placing their fingers to check for pulses. They continued this until they reached the smallest man who was squirming and writhing on the ground, clutching at the gaping wound in his stomach.

Steve's eyes roamed over the man, who really was no more then a boy, in front of him and crouched, the muzzle of his weapon finding a place under his chin.

"Alright, listen up. I'm going to ask you some questions and you're going to answer me. You do that, and we're not going to have any issues, are we clear?" The boy nodded nervously, his eyes wide and wild. "Good. Now, who are you?"

"John." The boy muttered under his breath.

"Okay, John. Who are you with? And what the hell are you guys doing in the US?"

"We are the revolution. We're taking back America from the holds of a corrupt government." John spat, looking at Steve as if he were the president himself. Callahan was beside him in an instant, crouching and staring at John with wide eyes.

"The revolution? You guys are from _the US_?" He muttered in disbelief. John nodded his affirmation. "And you guys think that you can just take over and start running the show without any opposition?"

"Seems to be going well so far, doesn't it, G.I. Joe?" He snarled, his eyes blazing as he stared at Callahan.

"Where are you based out of? How many of you are there?" Steve questioned. John looked away, his mouth set in a grim line until the barrel of the gun dug further into his chin. He growled low in his throat and muttered a soft 'alright' before responding.

"We're based out of D.C., there's...I don't know, man. Thousands of us. All of the blue collar people who've been pushed to the brink. Gas station attendants, mechanics, fast food guys. We're everywhere, man, and we're going to bring the whole fucking thing to the ground." He snapped before falling into a coughing fit, dark blood tinging his lips as he hacked and cough. "There's not a damned thing that you guys can do." He finished with a blood tinged smile. The gun shot that rang from the gun to Steve's right was deafening and he stood there for a moment, looking over the remains of the young man, his brain alarmingly numb to the sight.

"You didn't have to kill him." He whispered, not bothering to look to where Callahan was tucking the weapon back into its holster.

"He was going to die anyway, McGarrett. I was putting him out of his misery." Callahan replied, his voice low enough that it was only between them. Steve ran his hand over his hair and nodded his agreement slowly. As much as he hated to admit it, he was right.

"They're our own men, Callahan. _Our own men_. They're boys from our own country, and they're fighting against us. How are we supposed to know who's the enemy and who's not when there's nothing to distinguish them from us?"

"It's going to be an uphill battle, but we knew that going into this."

"It's not just an uphill battle anymore, it's a full on suicide mission." McGarrett sighed, turning to look at the other man. Callahan ran a thumb over his lower lip thoughtfully before nodding. "How do I look those men in the eyes and tell them that I don't think that they're going home?"

"Geeze, so the rumors were true, huh?"

"Rumors?" Steve quirked an eyebrow in response.

"Yeah, rumors have it that leading that taskforce has softened up ol' tough-as-nails McGarrett. Five years ago you would have looked at them, said 'call your wives and tell them to pick out your casket 'cause we're going in hot'. Now you're getting jittery over the idea of having to infiltrate a terrorist group." Callahan chuckled, cuffing Steve on the shoulder. Steve laughed a small breathy laugh of his own, ducking his head and nodding. He knew that it was true. Life with Danny, Chin, Kono, and even Gracie had smoothed out more of his rough edges then he cared to admit.

"I suppose they were. Let's, uh, let's push on, make camp at night fall and then we'll discuss it with them then. No use getting everyone worried now. You take the boys and go on up ahead, I need to talk to Danny, and we'll catch up." Callahan gave a short nod.

"Aye, sir." He motioned for Jackson and Zavala to follow him, leaving Steve alone with Danny. He sucked in a deep breath and turned to face Danny, scowling when he found the smaller man lifting his half torn shirt to look at his wound.

"Don't poke at it, Danny, you'll open it back up." Danny scoffed and dropped his shirt, wincing slightly.

"Steven, I don't know if you realized this, but I'm pretty sure that burn you gave me is _never_ going to let that bullet wound bleed. Those cells and blood vessels are pretty well dead, my friend. Not that I'm not greatful, but it reinforces all of my theories about you being an animal." He rolled his shoulders stiffly before shaking out his neck and leveling a half-assed smile at Steve. "So, it looks like you and Callahan are all buddy, buddy again?"

"That's how SEALs work, Danno. We find the issue, deal with it, and move on. No time to hold a grudge in the field." Steve replied as mechanically as it had been drilled into his head in Coronado. "Anyway, that's not what I want to talk to you about. Danny, this is going to get dicey real fast. I want you to go home. With Gracie."

"Well, then I guess it's a good thing that you don't tell me what to do, isn't it, _Commander_?" He scoffed, patting Steve on the shoulder. "Steve, I'm going to be fine, I can handle myself, I don't know how many times I have to prove that to you."

"It's not that I don't think that you can handle yourself, it's that _I_ can't handle the possibility of losing you." Steve snapped, tugging at his hair angrily. "Danno, you and Gracie are my _life_. If something happened to you, I don't know what I would do. So, I need you to listen to me and go home. Please?" His voice cracked on the last word, but Danny smiled and shook his head.

"I'm not going anywhere, Steven. I belong out here. With you. As much as it pains me to admit, I'm in this with you, for better or worse, I'm going to tag along with every ridiculous, fucked up scenario that you get us into. Now, I believe we discussed something about a country to save. Let's go do that so we can get home, and you can make me a nice, juicy steak to apologize for ruining our weekend with your G.I. Joe antics." Danny's smile warmed through the layer of ice that had wormed it's way around Steve's heart, causing him to shake his head and chuckle.

"You're a stubborn ass, you know that?"

"That's lesson one at the Jersey school of hard knocks, McGarrett. You should know that by now, keep up, babe." Danny smirked, cuffing Steve on the shoulder and gesturing for him to lead the way after the rest of the team.

They walked until their feet felt as though they were going to give out and their legs pumped battery acid. The sun had sunk below the horizon by the time that Steve allowed them to rest after moving off the side of the road and into the cover of dense forest. Danny heaved a sigh of relief and practically collapsed onto the ground, his back resting against a tree trunk, stretching his knee in front of him. The joint protested and Steve watched with rapt attention as his partner tried to work the stiffness out. His brow furrowed as he stepped closer.

"You okay, Danny?"

"Oh, yeah. My old age catching up with me. No worries." Danny waved his hand in dismissal, but the fond smile on his face eased Steve' concerns and he flopped onto the ground next to him. Callahan and Zavala went about setting up a small fire, and Jackson ran a check of the perimeter. "So, what'd you and Callahan figure out that you were so hush hush about?"

"I uh..." Steve quirked an eyebrow at him, and shook his head.

"Don't play dumb with me, Steven. If I'm going to be in this with you, I want to be all in. No secrets. So, what's going on?"

"The...the guys that we're dealing with are Americans, Danno. They're running some ridiculous revolution against the government. How in the hell are we supposed to fight men that we're supposed to be protecting?"

"The same way you do everything. With ridiculous efficiency, and crazy SuperSEAL precision. We'll get through this, Steve. I promise. Just think of it like a case back home, we'll lock this down just like we always do, babe." Steve simply smirked at him, his face threatening to split in half with the smile. "Why are you smiling now?"

"You called it home."

"That's generally what you call the place that you live, Steven."

"No, home is what you call home, _Daniel_. A house is what you call where you live. Hawai'i is your home, you can admit it. Secret's safe with me." Danny rolled his eyes, and for a second, they weren't fighting a war against boys of their own country, for that brief moment, they were sipping Longboards on the lanai. They were taking Gracie to Kamekona's to get some of that crazy, blue shave ice that she liked so much. They were them again.

That was until the sound of Jackson hissing the warning broke the barrier between them. He was crouched behind a tree and singaling that there was movement ahead of them. Steve's heart pounded in his ears as he tightened his grip on his rifle. He could do this, he told himself, sucking in a deep breath. He had to. They weren't just fighting for their country anymore.

They were fighting for home. _Their_ home.

_**Good lord...that got...waaaay sappier and fluffier-ish then I wanted it to...I'm sorry...ugh...don't look at me...it's horrifying.**_


End file.
